East Africa’s growing middle class hits 29 million
Shoppers queue to be served at a till at Nakumatt Westgate in Nairobi. The middle class usually does the bulk of their shopping in supermarkets. Picture: File
Stanslaus Kimani, 27, lives in a two-bedroomed flat in Nairobi’s South C estate, and works at one of the city’s investment banks. He is also a Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Nairobi, and pays school fees for his younger brother in secondary school.
His daily expenses total a little over $20 a day. According to a recent report by the African Development Bank (ADB), that puts him in the “high income” or rich class — in the same ranks as Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa with a net worth of about $13.8 billion.
